“People that we see at the health district come in for health screenings or immunizations. They’re just coming here, they’re getting screenings so they can go find a job. About half of them that come in already have a job, they got Medicaid, they’re established,” he said.
Rodolph Paul, Community Outreach Worker for the Clark County Combined Health District, says one way to help those newer arrivals would be faster approval of work permits by the federal government.
“Sometimes if you’re lucky you get yours in one month, some others can wait years because right now for us we have to wait 14 months. If you apply for it under (Temporary Protected Status), it’s three months to get approved,” he said.
‘Different cultures’
Paul said there are cultural differences between Haiti and the U.S., and the language barrier can make that even harder to overcome for some residents.
“Most of those people, when they come in, they got a basic language so they don’t really have a big issue with the language barrier. But the others, like those coming from the border, there’s a ton of problems with the language barrier,” Paul said.
In Haiti, there are no credit scores. People buy cars or build a house with cash because “nothing builds on credit.”
“That’s why I always tell people that I meet, it’s more important that you keep your credit score better than you keep your money in your bank or your pocket because you can get more money, and you can’t buy a car (if) your credit is really messed up,” Paul said.
The lack of credit makes it harder and more expensive to buy a car — making it harder to get to school and work. A lack of rental history makes it harder to rent.
“I think housing is a big problem for all people, all residents here in and around Springfield because there’s no rooms opening or no apartments, but it’s more harder for them because they don’t have credit. They don’t have residency history still so they can’t rent,” Paul said.
Cultural differences extend to opening a business. In Haiti, you don’t need a permit, you just open it, but here you need permission from the government first.
“This is a different country with different cultures,” he said.
Immigration lawyer
Born in the U.S. to Haitian and Cuban parents, Mia Perez ended up in Springfield via law school at the University of Cincinnati. Having specialized in immigration law, she moved to Springfield knowing that the Haitian community was growing.
“I decided to set up my platform,” she says. “I knew I was going to be needed.”
And needed Perez was. Today, she regularly volunteers at Springfield’s St Vincent de Paul center, helping immigrants navigate the bureaucracy that allows them to secure work permits. Since 2020, she’s been running her own firm and works with Haitian Creole and Spanish speakers dealing with the justice system. “People don’t want to go to any lawyer — especially with their immigration needs,” she says.
“When they say things about Haitians being illegal or not documented I can say ‘no, that’s not true,’” she says. “And there’s a lot of people with green cards.”
But Perez hasn’t escaped the recent furor.
“My nine-year-old daughter is being asked in school if Haitians eat cats and dogs,” she says. “And a friend of mine’s son was being bullied for having a Haitian background. He moved here a year ago, so he speaks as a foreigner and he’s having a hard time with that. She had to pull him out of school.”
A positive, Perez says, is that city officials have been supportive in spite of the wider issues. “We have a great support system here, starting with the Springfield PD — they have been exceptional,” she says.
Several years ago, the police department opened a citizen’s academy which allows civilians to understand what the police department does, which Perez says is key for Haitians in particular.
“They have bad memories about how policing works because they are thinking all police are corrupt,” she says. “In Springfield, it’s really made a difference by allowing them to understand the system in America.”
‘Peaceful coexistence’
Even after they’ve been here for a while and are working, they may face the same challenges as others with low incomes. Those that work often make too much money to qualify for public assistance or health insurance.
St. Vincent de Paul helps those in need, including Haitian immigrants, with things such as food, rent assistance, clothes, utilities, furniture, appliances, shelter referrals and more. St. Vincent volunteers and interpreter/navigators help those people with tools for independent living such as language barriers, work permits, TPS, English learning, job opportunities and more.
From Oct. 1, 2023 to February 2024, St. Vincent has served at least 5,790 individual Haitians in some manner of assistance, which includes babies, according to a statement sent to the News-Sun from executive director Casey Rollins.
“(St. Vincent) hopes to be part of the solution, or at the very least, essential to local relief efforts. We maintain hope that those who oppose our humanitarian assistance with Haitian neighbors, will begin to understand what our ministry calls us to do,” the statement says. “We will continue to serve all people in this region, citizens or otherwise, as we work together to strengthen Springfield, to facilitate independent living for all those in need; and to model peaceful coexistence among us.”
Cook, the health commissioner, said a major concern for Haitian immigrants right now — no matter how long they’ve been here — is hateful rhetoric and vitriol from a small but loud segment of the community.
“To say that they aren’t apprehensive sometimes about being in the community and knowing that hate is out there, that would be naive. Of course they are a little bit, but I’ve continued to reassure them... If they’re vocal, I still believe they’re the minority. A bulk of people here in Springfield and Clark County want to understand more,” he said.
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